The next morning, when Wanda and Nat walked into the medical wing of the lab, Nat had stopped Wanda before she opened the door.
Nat squeezed her shoulder, bending down to look Wanda in her eyes, which were filled with determination.
"Wanda, I'm serious. If you don't want to do this, no one is making you. I don't want you to get hurt, milaya. We can find another way."
Even Wanda knew that wasn't true. She shook her head.
"This is the only way. I heard Dr. Cho yesterday. I can do it, Nat. I know I can. I think Steve is lost in his head somewhere, and he can't get out."
Nat nodded, standing up. It was a weird way of putting it, but it definitely made sense.
When they got to where Steve usually was, both Wanda and Nat panicked. Steve's bed was empty.
A nurse noticed their faces.
"They moved him to another room with more advanced neurological testing."
Nat sighed in relief. She had thought the worst.
The nurse gave an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry. Someone probably should've told you. Let me show you where he is."
They headed down the hall, and the nurse scanned a key card to unlock the door.
"Here you are, and Dr. Cho or Bruce should be here soon if one isn't already."
The nurse turned to Wanda.
"Dr. Cho told me what you're going to do, Wanda. Good luck sweetie, and just know you are very brave."
Wanda nodded shyly. She didn't really think so.
The nurse headed away, grabbing a clipboard on her way out.
Wanda sat on the end of Steve's bed. She couldn't help it, but her nervousness caused a thin red fog to envelope her hands. She quickly hid them behind her back while she gained control.
Nat wasn't even looking at her, but she could tell Wanda was hiding her magic. She didn't say anything.
They sat in silence, both staring at Steve, lifeless on the bed. He was looking paler each day, and the bruises and marks from the explosion were only fading slowly.
Wanda began to doubt herself. She had been convincing Nat for the past 24 hours that she could do it, but what if she actually couldn't? What if he was gone for good? Would Nat resent her if she couldn't bring him back? She couldn't possibly...
Nat could tell Wanda was thinking hard. It didn't take a mind reader to understand she was doubting herself. She motioned Wanda over to her and took her hands in hers.
"What are you thinking, milaya?"
Wanda looked to Steve, then back to Nat, blinking tears out of her worried eyes.
"What-What if I can't do it? I know I said I could. But what if I hurt him even more?"
Nat sighed, pulling the child onto her lap.
"маленькая ведьма, you are the toughest kid I know. I want you to know that. I've only known you for a month and you've already saved the Avengers twice."
Nat stroked her hair and brushed a tear off of her cheek.
"All of us understand that this might not work. No one is holding that against you. And no one is making you do this. It doesn't make you less brave or strong, and it doesn't mean I love you any less."
Wanda nodded. That was really all she wanted to know. She had already made up her mind that she was going to do it, regardless of what Nat thought, however, she was relieved to know that no one had high expectations. She was just a kid, after all, even if she hated being one.
A few minutes later, Bruce and Dr. Cho appeared in the doorway, with some sort of advanced medical technology.
"We're going to use this to monitor Rogers' brain waves in greater detail. If we see a change while Wanda is doing her thing," Bruce said, hooking neuro patches to Steve's head,
"Then that should mean to us, out here, that they're communicating through their consciences."
Nat and Wanda nodded, although the whole concept seemed weird. Not only did Bruce's medical terms make no sense, but it just seemed like something out of a science fiction movie. A fascinating concept, but just couldn't be comprehendible.
But then again, here they were; A baby witch, a former Russian spy, a comatose world war II soldier who didn't look a day over 25, and a genius scientist that turned into a green human mutant; all in the same room together. That in itself proved that there was a possibility that this could work.
"Whenever you're ready, Wanda."
Wanda shifted.
"You're going to watch me do it?"
Bruce tapped his pen on the table impatiently.
"I have to, so I can read the brain waves."
Nat stood up.
"If you want, I can leave, so you have the least amount of audience as possible."
"No!" Wanda said desperately. "I want you to stay."
Nat nodded, sitting back down.
Wanda turned to Bruce and Dr. Cho. "Just...don't stare at me. It makes me nervous."
They nodded understandingly.
Wanda took a deep breath, placing her hands on the sides of Steve's head. He was cold and lifeless, and the feeling sent chills down her whole body.
Before starting, she looked around. Nat was staring intently, encouragement written all over her face.
To Wanda's request, both Dr. Cho and Bruce weren't looking at her; Dr. Cho had her eyes down at a clipboard, reading it, with the tip of her pen in her mouth. Bruce's eyes were fixed on the screen of the brain scanner. So far, the waves were the exact same as before.
Wanda nodded to herself. She could do this.
She could feel the red magic engulf her body and light up her eyes.
Her vision went dark moments later, and she closed her eyes, envisioning the man in front of her. She became aware of nothing, except the feeling of Steve's head. Slowly, she even lost consciousness of that...
All she was aware of was pitch blackness. She couldn't see or hear anything, not even her mother's words of encouragement from back in the hospital wing.
Wanda called out for Steve in her head. At first, there was no audible answer. She was about to call again when she heard the faintest voice in the back of her head.
"Can you hear me?"
It was Steve. It was actually him. Wanda restrained herself from excitement, as she knew that would snap her out of her unconscious thought. Instead, she answered him.
"Steve? Is that you?"
"Yeah...It's me. Baby witch?"
Wanda felt herself smile. She missed his voice.
"Yeah, it's me. I've missed you. Nat misses you. Where have you been?"
There was a pause.
"I don't know. Where am I?"
Wanda didn't answer right away. Was Steve not aware of his comatose state?
"Steve," She started, unsure of how to break the news to him, "You've been asleep for three weeks. Dr. Cho and Bruce thought that you weren't going to wake up, so they sent me in to pull you out."
It was definitely a summary. So much more went on during that time, but she didn't have all day.
"I-I think I could hear you talking. I could hear Nat, too."
"Just me. Nat doesn't really say much. She thinks you can't hear her."
"No, I remember. Tell her that I heard everything she said."
Wanda was confused, but now wasn't the time to ask him about it. She couldn't hang on forever.
"You have to wake up, Steve. You have to wake up so you can tell Nat yourself that you remember. She needs you. We all do. And you're here, talking to me, which shows that you can do it. Wake up."
There was a moment where Steve didn't answer her.
"I don't know how..."
"Think about your life back home. About Nat. She loves you, Steve. You can do it, you're just lost."
"Lost? But you were sent to find me?"
He was acting a little delirious, but Wanda didn't blame him.
"Yeah, Steve. And I did find you."
Wanda was running out of time. She couldn't hold on much longer, but she needed to make her last words sound convincing enough to Steve.
"Where is Nat?" Steve asked her weakly.
"She's right beside your bed, waiting for you to wake up. She's so worried about you. She'll do whatever it takes to get you back."
Wanda was slipping back into reality, and fast. She could hear Steve's last words in the back of her head as she faded back into the hospital room.
"...Whatever it takes..."
Wanda fell into Nat's arms. She must've been in the air again.
Wanda looked up at Nat. She was crying tears of happiness, and it was contagious.
Wanda started to cry too.
"I heard him, Mama! He's in there, and he's trying to wake up. He was just lost, but I got him back! We're gonna get him back!"
Nat embraced her, letting her tears fall as well.
"I know, milaya. We saw the brain waves. You did it. You got him back."
Bruce came over, interrupting them.
"From what I can tell, whatever you said, little witch, you convinced him enough to snap back to reality. He's waking up."
Bruce's smile was as wide as Nat and Wanda's.
Nat let out a relieved sob. She couldn't be prouder of Wanda. She really was a savior.
"What did you say to him, to wake him up?"
Wanda sniffed. "Maybe Steve will tell you when he's back."
She hugged Nat harder, staring intently at Steve over her shoulder.
He still didn't move, but his brain waves were off the charts. He sure was trying.
"I knew you could do it, milaya."
Nat whispered in her ear. Wanda smiled. She knew deep down she could do it, too.
...
The next ten minutes were the longest ten minutes any of them had ever gone through.
By minute three, Nat saw Steve's hand move slightly. They all surrounded his bed, staring intently. The brain scanner was off the charts with activity, but they all blocked the loud beeping out of their heads, focusing instead on Steve.
By minute six, he moved again. This time his face. It scrunched up in determination, but his eyes didn't open.
By minute eight, he started mumbling incoherent nonsense.
And by minute ten, Steve Rogers's eyes snapped open, and he shot up in a pure panic.
Nat shot forward, restraining his flailing arms. Wanda stood beside her, surprised. Did he not remember their conversation? If he fought that hard, clearly, he did.
"Hey! Steve!" Nat comforted him, although panic and shock laced her voice.
"It's okay, Steve. It's me, Nat."
"I can't see anything!" Steve yelled. Wanda noted that his eyes were wide open.
"You're in the lab, Steve. Bruce, Dr. Cho, and Wanda are here."
"Wanda?" Steve looked around.
"I'm right here, Steve." Wanda said quietly. She touched his arm so he could look her way, but he jumped back.
"You were..." Steve tried to put what just happened into words. He couldn't do it.
"Yeah, I woke you up, Steve. Now you're back with us."
Steve nodded. His eyes darted around. He clearly still couldn't see. Dr. Cho noticed this.
"Don't worry, Rogers. Your eyesight should be back within the next few minutes. Your eyes have been closed so long that they take a while to get used to the light again.
"I-I've been out, for three weeks?"
Nat nodded, but then she remembered he couldn't see.
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"Wanda, you told me, right?"
"Yeah, you remembered!"
Nat helped Steve sit up. He blinked a few times.
"Can you see me?" Nat asked, her voice shaky. So much just happened, her brain could barely process it. Her eyes were still rimmed with tears. Steve slowly reached out to wipe a stray one off her cheek.
He looked around, and even though everything was pretty blurry, it was starting to come back.
"I could hear everything. But I didn't know where it was coming from, not until now. Before I thought my brain was still making everything up."
"What did you hear?" Wanda asked, testing his theory. Nat prayed he didn't hear her whole confession. If she knew he would've heard her, she never would've admitted her feelings to him. How could she be so stupid?
Steve turned to Wanda. "You talked about your training and... Peter losing at Mario Kart?"
Wanda nodded vigorously; a smile plastered to her face.
He turned to Nat, who was gripping his hand.
"You said something too, I think. Unless my brain was just making it up." He mumbled.
Steve stared at her, a small, content smile creeping up at the corners of his lips. He clearly wanted to say something, but he kept silent. They could discuss it another time.
Wanda shook her head. "She told me that you couldn't hear us, so she never talked to you. You probably made it up."
Steve leaned back.
"Right..." He said under his breath, but he wasn't convinced.
...
It was at least midnight, and Nat and Wanda had finally crawled into bed after today's events. Wanda couldn't believe it. Nat couldn't believe it. They finally had Steve back.
Nat stared at the ceiling, reliving everything that just happened in the past day. She let out an accidental sigh.
"What's wrong, Nat?" Wanda asked. She didn't realize she was still awake.
Nat turned to Wanda.
"You know," She started. "It was pretty cool to see your powers like that today. Scary, for me, but really amazing, Milaya."
"Why was it scary?"
Nat paused, unsure of how to continue.
"I was just so worried that you were going to get lost in your head, too. And then you started floating, and a crown appeared on your head. It was kind of scary for a mother to watch her eight-year-old daughter float into the air. It almost sounded like you were chanting, too."
Wanda sat up. She wasn't aware of this.
"Chanting?"
"Yeah. I couldn't hear what you were saying, but we all thought it was your conscience, talking to Steve."
Wanda nodded. The reason she probably wasn't aware of it was because this was the first time she could vividly remember talking to someone through telekinesis.
Wanda laid back down, snuggling close to Nat.
"Did you see anything scary, like when you saw the explosion from me?"
"Actually...no." Wanda never thought about it. She didn't have time. But, she now realized that she actually never saw anything.
"I couldn't see anything. Only hear. It was just pitch black."
Nat tucked a loose hair that fell out of her braid.
"I guess that's a good thing, right? Less chance of nightmares?"
Wanda nodded.
"I think you need to go talk to Steve alone, Mama."
Despite the fact that Wanda might not have nightmares that night, she knew neither of them would fall asleep anytime soon. There was just way too much that happened today.
Nat looked confused in the darkness, lit up only by the moonlight out of the crack of her curtains.
"Why do you say that?"
Wanda shrugged; a movement Nat could barely see.
"So that you can tell him that you missed him. That you love him."
Nat sat up, flicking the lamp on.
"Why would you say that?"
"Steve loves you. He said so when I talked to his conscience."
Wanda knew it was a lie. Steve never said that. But right now, Nat needed facts, even if they were fake. Besides, everyone could tell that Steve Rogers loved Natasha Romanoff. Well, everyone except Natasha Romanoff herself.
"Do you love him, Mama?"
Nat didn't answer. She bit the skin around her thumb, staring ahead. She was clearly processing everything Wanda just sprung on her.
"Mama?"
Nat still didn't answer her question. She sat in the glow of the lamplight, contemplating Wanda's words.
After a minute or so, she sprang up, kissing her forehead.
"I'll be right back, milaya. Stay here."
She left the room, shutting the door behind her. Wanda knew she wouldn't be back that night. And for the first time ever, she was actually okay with it.